Je ne sais quoi
by Harkura
Summary: Just after Roxas graduates from High school a traveling Magician comes to town, bringing with him more trouble then he's worth. Suddenly Roxas is caught in a war for the stage, where everything relies on skill and 'sleight of hand.' Act III Up!
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Roxas sighed, looking out the window. His mind wandered away from his History teacher's lecture. One week…one week left and then he could be done with school forever. Of course his mother and father would want him to go to a college on one of the worlds. Even if he didn't want to see another text book as long as he lived. Roxas glanced at his teacher, who was still droning on about some battle or what-ever. He looked back out the window, wishing the class would be over soon. Suddenly he was hit in the back of the head with a paper ball. He blinked, staring at the brightly colored paper as it landed on his desk.

He turned and looked for the person who had thrown it at him. He saw his best and closest friend (they were so close in fact that they were nearly brothers), Sora, smiling at him. Roxas lifted an eyebrow, staring at the brunet quizzically. Sora's smile widened and he mouthed, 'Open it.' The blonde shot him another weird look before turning right in his seat.

Roxas stared at the paper for a few seconds. _'What is Sora planning now?' _He sighed and uncrumpled the piece of paper, smoothing it out so he could read what it said. It was a flyer for a magician: The Great Luxord. Roxas gave the paper a weird look. _'A magician?' _It wasn't as if he hadn't heard of one before, it was just one had never come to Twilight Town. Nothing interesting ever came to Twilight Town; the town was so dull because of it.

Roxas read through the show times. The show had apparently just gotten there; the first show was set for Saturday night. It was Tuesday. Roxas looked up as the bell rang and the class started to collect their things. Sora walked over to his "brother" still smiling.

"Do you wanna go? It's the day after we graduate so it could be like a celebration thing," he said sounding excited at the idea.

Roxas thought for a moment. It was the most interesting thing to come to Twilight Town since like ever and the show was 'money back guarantee good.' He smiled, "Sure, I'll ask my p's and tell you tomorrow if I can go."

"'Kay," replied Sora starting to walk away, he needed to get to a student council meeting, "See ya' later, Roxas!" He waved as he left the classroom.

Roxas waved back then started to pick up his belongings. He paused looking back at the poster and smiling. He put it in his backpack and left the classroom, _'I bet it'll be cool…'_

Roxas reached his house an hour or so later. He lived in a rather large mansion that was set away from the town. His parents wanted to have a lot of land, but remain in Twilight Town (it was where they had grown up) and that was really the only place there was. It was pretty run down when they bought it, but his father was able to fix it up.

Entering the house Roxas called to his mom that he was home. He took his shoes off by the door and started to go up the stairs. About half-way up he was tackled by a white and yellow blur. He fell on the stairs but managed not to fall down them. He already knew who had tackled him. Rolling on his back he looked up at the little girl who was standing on the stairs next to him.

His younger sister, Naminé smiled at him, "You fell down, big brother." She giggled and smiled at him, playing innocent.

Roxas chuckled and stood, "I guess I did." He smiled at his younger sister; she had started elementary school two years ago. This meant that she got bused home, while he had to walk.

"Guess what! Kairi is coming home tonight, she's going to be home for your graduation," exclaimed Naminé, she sounded really excited.

Roxas smiled. Kairi was his older sister by two years; she went to the university in Eternal Gardens. It was one of the top schools in all the worlds, needless to say you had to have extremely good grades to get in. "Thanks for telling me," replied Roxas sitting on the steps to even out their heights.

The girl nodded, "You wanna help me make her a welcome home sign?"

"Aw, I'd love to kiddo, but I've got homework to do," said Roxas. Naminé looked really sad and was about to beg her brother, but Roxas held up his hand for her to remain silent. "I'll tell you what, when I am done with my homework I'll come help you, okay?"

The blonde considered it for a moment. Then she nodded and smiled at her brother, "Okay, but you better promise to come once you're done!"

Roxas smiled a stood, "Okay, I promise…" His little sister cheered then ran down the stairs and into the living room. Roxas turned and walked up the stairs and headed toward his room. He entered and dropped his backpack on his bed.

He was about to open it when his cell phone started to ring. He freaked a bit not expecting to hear the high pitched tone that he had set it on during school so he knew when it rang but his teachers couldn't hear it. He took it out of his pocket and looked at the number. It was Sora. _'I just saw him…what does he want?' _He chuckled and answered it.

"_Roxas, you have to see this!"_

He gave his phone a weird look, "See what?" Sora couldn't have forgotten that he was at home and not at the school anymore.

"_Go to your window, you should be able to see it from there…"_

Roxas cocked an eyebrow. What had gotten Sora all excited so fast? He walked over to his window and pulled back the curtain. "Woah…"

"_You see it?"_

"Yeah," murmured Roxas. He could see why Sora wanted him to see it. It was a map of all the worlds made out of fire. It was just floating in the sky, then suddenly it changed to a giant snake, which curled around it's self before blooming into a rose. "Where is it coming from?"

"_I dunno, I think somewhere near the beach. I want to go check it out but none of the other council members want to come with me. They're such cowards and I can't leave the meeting."_

Roxas chuckled, "Well, I can't go either. I promised Naminé that I would help her make a 'welcome home' sign for Kairi after I finish my homework."

"_Kairi is coming back?" _Roxas could hear the edge in Sora's voice. It was way too obvious that he was crushing on his older sister.

"Yeah, and stop drooling. She's my sister, I can't believe you can see anything in her," stated Roxas sounding slightly disturbed.

"_Well, duh. She's your sister. Ah, I gotta go, Roxas. I'll talk to you tomorrow, bye!" _Sora hung up before Roxas had a chance to respond. Apparently the council was getting impatient, waiting for their president to get off the phone.

Roxas laughed again and looked back at the fire in the sky. His eyes widened as it started to spell out words. When the message was finished he had to read it a few times not believing what he was seeing. He took a step back and closed the curtains. He turned his back on the window, his heart hammering in his chest, the words emblazoned in his mind.

_Are you watching closely, Roxas?_


	2. Act I

**Act I**

The two boys walked down the street heading toward the theater. They spoke in rather loud excited voices. They were finally done with school for a while and it was time to kick back and relax a bit.

"Can you believe it?" questioned Sora looking at Roxas with a huge grin. "We're finally considered adults!"

Roxas laughed and shook his head, "No…now we're just college students. We're not adults until we're at least twenty-five."

"Man, I've decided I'm not going to college. I'm going to run away and go fight in the coliseum or something. I don't want to hear another boring lecture or see another text book ever again!" exclaimed Sora throwing up his hands, "I mean seriously! We just finished high school, why would I want to spend my summer worrying about which college entrance exam to take then study my brains out just to get a rejection letter and end having to go the community college here."

"You're delirious; you had the best grades out of our entire graduating class! I'm surprised that colleges aren't begging you to go there," replied Roxas as they neared the theater. There was a pretty good sized line for it being early; still a lot more people would have to come before the show would be sold out.

Roxas and Sora got in line and continued to talk about colleges and what they could do now that they had graduated. The topic carried them through the line and into the theater. Both boys stopped talking when they saw all the posters depicting all of the tricks The Great Luxord could perform. They gravitated to one picture in particular; it was a picture of a man, who they could only assume was Luxord, manipulating electricity.

"Woah…you think he'll do that?" murmured Sora staring at the poster, "That would be amazing." Roxas nodded in agreement.

"Pft, you think THAT'S amazing? Puh-lease," sneered a voice.

Sora and Roxas looked over at the person who had spoken. It was a young man with long red hair dressed in all black. They stared at him quizzically, both wondering why he didn't think that manipulating electricity was impressive.

The red-head smirked, "Watch this." He held his hand out palm up. After a few seconds a small ball of fire appeared. It spun in his palm before growing into a real rose. "And that was without matches or a lighter."

Sora and Roxas looked impressed. "Are you a magician as well?" asked Roxas.

The red-head shrugged, "Could be, or I could be a figment of your imagination." He disappeared in a poof of smoke, and then reappeared behind the two boys. "The name is Axel, I wouldn't advise forgetting it, you'll be sorry."

The two boys turned, but he had already disappeared, leaving the rose in his wake. Sora and Roxas looked at each other, wondering if Axel worked for Luxord and was just part of the show or if he was another magician. Without saying a word they started to walk toward the theater to take their seats.

They were barely two feet away before a young man with long silver hair stopped them. He handed a rose to Roxas saying, "Don't forget your door prize." Before he walked away, Roxas looked at the rose then looked back at the place where the rose Axel had left was, or should have been. It wasn't lying there anymore since it was in Roxas' hand.

"That was strange," murmured Sora as they entered the theater.

"You're telling me," replied Roxas looking at the rose that was in his hand.

"You just had to show off, didn't you?" asked Riku after he had caught up with Axel after giving Roxas the rose.

Axel smiled, "It's not like he didn't already know that we were here. Plus how could I resist such a pretty face?"

Riku rolled his eyes, "I will never understand your choices and your flirting strategies. I understand the idea of subtly, but you've just confused him."

"How do you know?" asked Axel with a small chuckle as they took their seats in the back of the theater. Axel surveyed the audience and the stage, "You think you'll be able to figure out how he does it this time?" Riku didn't reply, Axel sighed, "Why don't we just come up with a trick that will make them forget all about "The Great Luxord."

Riku looked at him, "We tried that, remember? It's the reason why we're not welcome back in Neverland."

"That was only because you picked Demyx…he screwed the trick up. It worked every other place we tried it," muttered Axel as the theater darkened. "But you were right, that trick was too dangerous."

The din from the audience silenced as soon as the theater went dark. Roxas sat up a little straighter in his seat. The crimson curtains rose. A dim spot light shone upon a wooden stool. For a while nothing happened, there was a quiet murmur from the audience. Suddenly a top hat appeared on the stool, there was no applause but the audience quieted again.

The stage lit up with a smoky white light. The hat rose from the stool then floated in mid air. It was as if an invisible person had picked it up and put it on. Suddenly the stage lit up completely and the Great Luxord appeared, wearing the top hat and sitting on the stool. The audience clapped, but it was more of a polite applause.

The Great Luxord smiled, "Well it seems I will actually have to try to impress this audience." He stood and walked in front of the stool, "Good, I love a challenge." His eyes seemed to flit to someone in the audience.

He smiled and gave a sweeping bow. "Welcome all, to a show of wonder and mystery!" Doves appeared out of thin air and flitted over the audience. "All you have to do is watch…" He moved to the side and the spot light shown on a metal box.

Quiet foreboding music started to play in the theater. An unnatural silence came over the audience. The Great Luxord took a bow and walked around the box tapping the sides showing that it was solid metal. He stepped in front of it and opened the door then stepped inside and closed the door again. Suddenly swords came out of nowhere and skewered the box. There was a collective gasp from the audience. The door opened and The Great Luxord was not inside.

There was a sharp whistle from the middle of the audience. Roxas turned and there sat The Great Luxord right next to him. The magician smiled at him and stood as the audience broke into applause. "I will need a volunteer for this next trick." He looked around the audience. No one seemed to want to volunteer. Roxas looked around as well, he noticed Axel sitting in the back of the theater. The Great Luxord gave a slight frown. "Is no one brave enough to assist me? I assure you ladies and gentlemen it will not be painful."

Roxas saw Axel smirk as he raised his hand to signal that he'd volunteer. Roxas glanced at The Great Luxord to see if he noticed. He was surprised to see that Luxord was smirking as well.

"Alright, you sir in the back, follow me to the stage," he walked to the stage.

Axel stood up and walked to the stage. He winked at Roxas when he passed. He stepped up on the stage and walked over to the Great Luxord. Luxord handed him a box with a question mark on it.

"Hold that for me, thank you." Luxord stepped away from Axel. He addressed the audience. "Now the trick you are about to witness is very dangerous, "Luxord turned to Axel, "Good luck, sir." He bowed and disappeared, fading into nothing.

The audience murmured, wondering what was going on. Axel even looked confused. Roxas watched him, wondering if he would make the box burst into flames. A few moments passed, before Axel decided to open the box. He opened it, the floor dropped out from beneath him, but he didn't fall. He started to float in mid air. Luxord stepped out from behind the curtain clapping, the audience followed suit…sort of. "Very good, sir, you have just avoided a rather nasty fall," he said smirking.

Axel looked at him confused. Then he looked down blanching. His face was not as confident as it had been before. He looked up, taking a deep breath to calm himself and stepped to the side of the trap door. He looked at Luxord and smirked.

"Thank you," he bowed to the audience who were giving a scattered applause. "And now for my next trick, I will disappear." With that he jumped of the stage and headed toward where Roxas was sitting. The audience laughed at his antics, Luxord gave a small chuckle.

Roxas looked over at Axel as he sat down next to him. The red-head smiled at him.

"Enjoying the show" he asked. Roxas nodded. "Keep watching, Roxas, this is only the beginning."

Roxas stared at Axel, how had he known his name? Axel winked and snapped his fingers; he was gone in that instant. Roxas turned and looked behind him up at the seats where Axel had been sitting before. He was there acting as nothing had happened; Roxas sighed and turned back to the stage.

"Well that was amusing, "Riku murmured glancing at his friend as Luxord started a basic sleight of hand trick.

"It was a clear sheet of glass, thin though I could feel it straining under my wieght," stated Axel quietly.

Riku gave an absent nod as Luxord started to introduce his last trick.

"I'm afraid tonight show cannot be as long as the other's, but if you want to see my other tricks please come to the other shows. I promise you will only see this trick more then once, but it will astound you each time." Luxord pulled out a deck of cards. "Please welcome my assistant this plain deck of cards." He shuffled them as the audience laughed.

Luxord drew a card and showed it to the audience. "Just a plain Jack of Hearts, ladies and Gentleman, but watch closely." The card spun on its end hovering above his hand. It spun faster and faster as it grew bigger. It grew big enough so it was about the size of a grown man. The card stopped, the entire audience could see the picture of the Jack now. Luxord stepped to the side, so he was standing next to the card. It turned around once and when the picture was facing the audience again the Jack stepped off the card. He stood there a moment completely still.

The giant card fell backwards and returned to its normal size. Luxord picked it up and tore it in half, the Jack disappeared. The audience burst into applause. Luxord took his last bow of the night. The curtain fell and the house lights came up.

Axel looked at Riku; it was obvious that the sliver haired youth hadn't figured out the trick. The red-head stayed silent, Riku was already on edge since he hadn't been able to catch the telling factor of Luxord's trick. Axel looked down at the main level and saw Roxas and his friend getting up and talking excitedly about the tricks that they had just seen. "I think he'll be rather handy, don't you?" asked Axel glancing at Riku.

Riku looked at Axel for a moment before looking at Roxas, "I suppose he will, I mean, he has already attracted Luxord's attention on his own. You think he's got potential?"

Axel gave a slight shrug, "There's only one way to find out isn't there." Riku nodded and the twosome disappeared.

Roxas glanced up to where Axel had been sitting. The red-head was gone; Roxas returned his attention to the people around him to make sure he didn't run into anyone. For some reason the red-head kept drawing his attention.

"_Are you watching closely, Roxas?"_ Those were the words that had been emblazoned into the sky that night. For some reason Roxas had a feeling that Axel had something to do with those words. He aimed to find out if he was right or not.

_Finé_

A/n: So Act I has come to an end. I hope you enjoyed it. If you did please review, hey, review even if you didn't. Just to warn you. I think this story might get updated rather slowly; it all depends on how fast the chapters come to me. And right now they aren't coming to me very fast.


	3. Act II

**Act II**

The air was cool and a slight breeze blew, pulling the salty ocean air up and mixing it with the rancid smell of dead and rotting fish. There were few clouds in the sky letting the stars and moon shine through, making the use of lanterns unnecessary. The stars were more then enough light for this meeting. A dark figure leaned against the lower wall that separated the few homes built near the ocean from the sand of the beach. He was relatively calm, listening to the soothing sound of waves crashing upon the shore, albeit the man he was supposed to meet with was late.

A second shadow was suddenly cast over the cobbled streets. Foot steps could be heard over the crashing of the waves. Bright blue eyes opened as the newcomer approached. "You're late."

"But I'm here," stated the quiet voice. The man stood confidently, his cloak fluttering in the slight ocean breeze. He wore a hood over his face, but his amber eyes glowed giving him the look of a wraith.

"Indeed," murmured the first man. His hair was short and spiked nearly straight up. It was an unusual style for the world, so it was obvious that he wasn't from the area. He was wearing the normal style attributed to the middle class.

The cloaked man's eyes looked over the blonde's figure carefully checking for any weapons. The blonde gave a slight chuckle. "I am not armed. Of course… I hardly need be." Flames sprang to life in his hand then went out. The magic user smirked as the cloaked man took a step back.

"What did you request me here for?" The pirate didn't trust any magic users. He was one of the few that sailed the seas without one on his crew. His wraith like eyes narrowed waiting for the man's request. He wasn't as picky with his employers as he was with his crew. A magician's money was just as easily spent as a politician's.

The magician's smirk disappeared. He held out his hand and an object appeared in it. The object was a rather small oval amulet. It was made from brass and had a Maltese cross carved into it. The pirate took a step closer to inspect the object. He looked up at the young blonde; he knew that it was an illusion. "Is this what you want me to acquire?"

The blonde gave a slight nod. "Yes, by any means necessary." He closed his hand on the illusion and looked at the pirate. "I don't care if you have to kill the person wearing it. If you bring it to me, you will be rewarded."

There was an odd gleam in the pirate's eye. "I believe we have an accord." He held his hand out, but when the blonde moved to shake his hand he moved it away. "As long as young master is willing to provide a number."

The magician gave the pirate a cool smile. "Let's say five thousand coin now." He pulled out a bag from his pocket and held it out to the pirate. "And ten thousand upon your return with the amulet. Do we have an accord?"

The pirate took the bag of gold and inspected one of the pieces. He smiled when he was sure that they were real. "We have an accord." He shook the magician's still outstretched hand.

Roxas woke up, his eyes flying open as he sat up in his bed. He was covered in a cold sweat. He looked around his room. The dream had felt so real, like he had actually been by the docks in Port Royal. He had seen pictures of the world in his World Studies text book. What was really more disturbing then the fact that the dream had felt so real was that he was in his own dream. He was the magician; except he looked older then he was now. This confused Roxas, how could he be in a different world and older then he was when he was sleeping in his room.

The blonde gave a sigh and started to play with the golden chain around his neck. He blinked and pulled the necklace out of his shirt. He looked at the oval charm that was connected to the chain. It was the same amulet that was in his dream. Roxas stared at the oval charm with widened eyes. He had been wearing the necklace since birth, but he had never asked why and had only been told that it had once belonged to his Great Grandfather.

Roxas got out of bed and went to his chest of drawers. He pushed aside clothing and old notebooks looking for the old photo album that Naminé had found a few months previously. He looked up from what he was doing when he heard a noise. It sounded like someone was tapping on his window. He dismissed it as the wind and continued searching for the photo album. When he found it he heard the tapping again. This time he looked at the window. There was an odd shadow on it.

Lifting an eyebrow the blonde moved to the window. He figured that it was probably Sora trying to get him to sneak out of the house to see something or what ever. Despite Sora's model student status he had to be a bigger delinquent then Seifer and his gang combined.

He reached the window and drew back the curtains. He let out a small yelp of surprise he moved away from the window staring dumbstruck at the person, who was not Sora, on the other side of the glass. After a moment Roxas shook out of his shock and opened the window. As the person stepped inside his room he hissed, "What are you doing here?"

The red head gave Roxas a little smile. "Well, you weren't at tonight's show so I came to see you." The magician wandered around the boy's room looking interested in nothing. Roxas gave Axel a slight glare. He didn't even know him and he was allowing him to wander around his room?

"Why?" was the next question the blonde asked. Axel looked at the younger male as he thought about the question. "Well, its obvious isn't it? I came to see you because I wanted to see you," replied Axel like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Why?"

Axel gave Roxas an odd look. "Do you always ask your guests questions like this? It's very rude you know, Roxy." Axel put one of his hands on his hip and waved a finger at the younger boy, like a mother scolding a child.

Roxas went red. Not only was Axel questioning his manners but he had shortened his name. He hated that nickname; it made him feel like a child. He glared at the red head. "First of all my name is Roxas, got it memorized? And secondly I hardly know you, so you wanting to see me just brings up questions in my mind, okay?"

Axel gave a slight chuckle. "What ever you say, Roxas." He paused thinking a moment. Just how much did he want to explain to the blonde? Not much, it would be a bit difficult to get Roxas to trust him if he knew the complete truth. "Let's just say you caught my attention when I saw you opening night and I wanted to know more about you."

Roxas rolled his eyes, he knew that it was more then that, but he knew that Axel wasn't going to give him anymore information then that. Roxas leaned against his window and stared at the fire user. He didn't know what to say, and after all, Axel had said that he had come to see him.

Axel looked over at the blonde with a slight smile on his face. It was hard to tell what the red head was thinking. "Do you like magic, Roxas?"

The blonde lifted an eyebrow. That was an odd question to ask wasn't it? He had only seen a magician once, well twice, if Axel's little pre-show skit counted for anything. He gave a shrug. "I guess…"

The fire user chuckled. "Do you know what magic is?" He looked at Roxas gazing into his eyes, trying to uncover something behind them. When the boy did not answer Axel continued. "By dictionary definition it is the conjuring of tricks and illusions that make apparently impossible things seem to happen. The key words in that definition are "apparently" and "seem." This is only true with your common illusionist on the street corner. What I'm talking about is real magic. Men performing things that Magicians pretend to perform." There was a spark in Axel's eyes. He held Roxas' gaze as he spoke. "Like what I do with fire, it is no parlor trick. It's real magic, real fire, real danger."

"What are you talking about? Real magic, there's no such thing. It's all expensive smoke and mirrors and nothing else," replied Roxas waving Axel's entire speech off. He didn't believe him. "It's like my sister believing in ghosts, they don't exist and neither does this so called true magic."

Axel sighed looking down at the ground. "I suppose I can't say that I didn't expect you to say that. You are like everyone else, unable to believe in things that you don't understand." He looked back up at Roxas a dangerous twist in his smile and flicker of fire in his eyes. "Unlike your friend, however."

Roxas' eyes widened a bit, he glared at Axel. "Sora? What did you do to him?" He was sure that Axel had done something horrible. Needless to say he didn't trust the red head in the slightest.

Axel held his hands up. "Nothing, I assure you. Riku simply talked to him, he believed in true magic. He was quite eager to go with Riku, honestly." He put his hands down and gave Roxas a smirk. "He's staying with us. He might even leave this world, did you know?"

The blonde was still glaring at the elder man, his hands balled into tight fists. His arms were shaking. It was taking all of his reserve not to attack Axel, that plan of action would not be a good idea. He was sure the red head was much more adept at fighting then he was, not to mention it would wake up his parents and sisters. "What have you done to him?" His voice shook as he asked the question.

"Now you sound like a broken record. I've already told you that we've done nothing. It was his choice to come with us," replied Axel calmly, smoothly. Not only was he a master of fire and magic, he was also master of the art of deception. To put it bluntly he excelled at lying. Still he could tell that Roxas wasn't buying a word of it. It was time to move onto plan B. Axel gave another sigh. "All right, you caught me." He met Roxas' eyes again. "Do you want to know how to get him back?"

Roxas' heart skipped a beat. He was right they had kidnapped Sora. "How do I know that he's not dead or worse?" snapped Roxas. He wasn't going to play this game. He knew what would come next. He would be asked to do something to get his friend back.

Axel lifted an eyebrow. "You think we'd kill him?" He chuckled lightly. "He wouldn't be any use to us dead. Who would want to save someone that was a corpse? Plus Riku wouldn't have anyone to play with." The tone behind Axel's words was dangerous, despite his cheerful demeanor. The statement 'play with' nearly made Roxas' heart stop. The blonde assumed that Sora would be in trouble, but he didn't think that his friend would be tortured. Axel looked over Roxas' horrified face calmly. "I promise that he won't be killed, if you're a good boy and do as you're told."

Roxas held his ground. "I still don't trust you. I want to see him, talk to him. Then and only then will I follow your directions." He knew he couldn't save Sora without help and he probably wouldn't receive any, so he had to follow their instructions, but he was still going to make sure that Sora was okay.

'_Honestly…this kid is a broken record, but he's smart. I'll give him that.' _Axel smiled. "Alright…I'll take you to him, right now."

Sora had woken up about an hour ago from a throbbing pain in his head that he could only attribute to being drugged or being knocked unconscious physically. He had looked around to determine that he had been taken some place, so his theory about being drugged or knocked unconscious was accurate. Who had kidnapped him was another question. The brunet had cast his mind for anyone would wished to do him harm, but could not come up with anyone. That's what he had been trying to figure out this past hour. Who it was that had brought him here.

He had no idea where he was. It didn't even look like he was in Twilight Town. He could see outside from where he was, if just barely, but he didn't recognize any buildings that he could see. Although he hadn't spent much time down town so he could very well still be in Twighlight Town.

The brunet sighed and leaned his head back against the wall. He hands where handcuffed behind his back and his legs were chained to the ground. He felt like he had been put in prison, but even the prisons where nicer then this place. '_Think, Sora, think. How did you get yourself into this position? You were walking home from work and suddenly you find yourself here.'_ There had to be more then that. He didn't notice anything else other then the fact that he had suddenly lost consciousness?

He looked up when he heard the door open. He didn't recognize the person at first, albeit he looked somewhat familiar. Sora cast his mind for the people that he had met recently, knowing that his kidnapper was one of them. He gave a slight gasp when he remembered. "You…you that guy that handed Roxas the rose."

Riku smirked. So the boy did remember him, he wasn't expecting that. "What do you know; I made an impression on someone with out even trying." He walked over to Sora and knelt down in front of him, still smirking.

Sora gave him a slight glare. "Why'd you kidnap me? My parent's aren't rich so it's not like you can hold me for ransom."

Riku gave Sora a dangerous look, moving closer to the boy. He straddled the brunet's lap and whispered into his ear. "Who said anything about ransom? What if I just kidnapped you, for you?" He sat back and saw that Sora's face had gone red. "There is much you could offer me…"

Sora struggled underneath him, knowing exactly what Riku meant. "Get of me!" He tried to free his hands from the handcuffs, in attempt to free himself to push Riku off of him. "I swear to god if you don--" He was cut off by Riku's lips pressing down on his own as the elder boy's tongue entered his mouth. Sora continued to struggle for only a few moments before he surrendered to the kiss. It was obvious that Riku was very good at what he did.

Riku broke the kiss and licked his lips. "You are hardly in a position to be threatening." He chuckled and got off of Sora. He walked to the door then turned back. "Your friend is coming; he agreed to follow our orders to save your life. You're lucky…I won't be able to do anything for a few days." With that he left the room.

Sora continued to glare at the place where Riku had been standing. His heart was hammering away in his chest, his face was flushed, and he couldn't get himself to calm down in the slightest. He was scared, but at the same time he couldn't get how good the kiss was out of his head. The brunet sighed and leaned his head against the wall, the cold brick like ice against his fevered skin. '_What am I going to do? Can I just let Roxas risk his life for mine?'_ "What are we going to do…"

A/N: OH MY GOD! It's finally finished! Act II. Thank God…I'm sorry it took so long. I couldn't think of anything. Oh the side pairings, the side pairings. Sora is playing a bigger role in the story then I had originally planned, but what-ever. This is really my brain taking the story were it wants to go; after all it's what controls my fingers. I thank all of those people who reviewed for the Prologue and Act I. I hope I can get Act III up soon. Please stick with me even though the updates are slow right now. Anyway R&R even if you did for Act I. Suggestions and Reviews help me post.


	4. Act III

**Act III**

Roxas followed Axel through the dark streets of Twilight Town. The twosome walked in silence. The blonde looked around; he was in a part of the town that he didn't recognize. He didn't even know that it was there. Most of the buildings were old and falling apart. It was then Roxas realized something.

He looked at Axel, "You don't have permission to be here, do you?"

The fire user looked back at Roxas. _'So he's talking to me now…'_ He thought a moment; he figured telling the truth wouldn't hurt, "No, we don't have permission to be here. Luxord doesn't even have full permission to be here. He's been under close supervision since he's arrived."

Roxas blinked, confused. Why wasn't Luxord allowed to be in Twilight Town, he was just here to perform why was that so bad? "Why?" He caught up with Axel, momentarily forgetting that he was supposed to be angry with the red head, though he didn't forget about Sora.

Axel gave a slight sigh. _'Does this kid ever stop asking questions?' _He glanced at Roxas. The boy didn't seem to hate him anymore though, which was a plus. "Your leaders don't take kindly to people like us."

"People like you?" asked Roxas once again sounding confused. Usually the only people that the border patrol wouldn't let in were criminals from other worlds… Roxas looked up at Axel again, he didn't want to assume anything about him, but he and Riku had kidnapped Sora so… "You're criminals?"

Surprisingly Axel laughed. He looked at Roxas and stopped walking, forcing Roxas to stop as well since the blonde didn't know where they were going. "Worse. I know you don't believe in this," he snapped his fingers and fire sprang to life in his hand. "But we are magic users. Stronger then a normal man, because of our powers."

Roxas understood what Axel was saying. The leaders of Twighlight Town wouldn't want to let in people that could potentially destroy the town. He looked at the fire dancing in Axel's hand. In his dream he could summon fire like that. He reached out and ran his hand thought it, surprisingly he felt very little heat coming from the fire, even though he was sure it wasn't just an illusion. He looked up at Axel for a moment before placing his hand over top of it.

Axel watched the fire bend to Roxas's will or at least that's what it looked like. He was slightly surprised that the boy could control his fire. Only one other person had been able to do that and Riku had only done it one or two times.

Roxas couldn't help but smile as the fire ran thought his fingers. It was bending to his thoughts, following his orders without him saying anything. It was amazing. He wondered if Axel was manipulating the fire for him or if he was actually the one doing it. He glanced up at Axel; the fire mage looked just as amazed as he was. This was surprising to Roxas; he had been more inclined to believe that Axel was the one controlling the fire for him then he controlling it himself.

Roxas looked back at the fire; it changed into a small swirling ball at his command. He felt something odd, a slight pull on his hand. He looked up at Axel and saw the pained expression on the red head's face. He immediately released the fire from his control, snatching his hand back.

"I…I'm sorry," said Roxas automatically. He didn't even think about the fact that they could be torturing Sora at that very moment so he really didn't have anything to apologize for.

The fire went out. Axel stared at his hand; he knew that Roxas hadn't meant to hurt him… at least not consciously. It seemed the boy had a gift for magic, true magic. He was just as skilled as Riku if not more. Axel hadn't seen anyone manipulate another's person's element like Roxas had. The boy had caused him pain using his own magic and fire against him. This was all subconscious of course, but the blonde would be dangerous if Luxord got him to join his side. Axel looked at Roxas, who was still looking at him concerned.

Axel gave him a slight smile, "Its okay…you didn't mean too. Though you can't tell me that you don't believe in magic, now." He had known that the boy would be able to be taught how to use magic, but he had no idea that he was a born magician, like Riku and himself.

Roxas looked away. In truth he did believe what Axel had said about true magic. He had always been kind of odd when it came to fire and water. He seemed to be able to control some aspects of it since he was little. He had lost friends over it, because he would hurt people without meaning to. He had put his best friend in middle school, Hayner, in the hospital on accident. His apparent power had scared most away; right now Sora was his only friend.

Roxas sighed and looked at Axel, his face free from emotions, "Fine…I believe you."

Xxx

Sora had a plan. Well, it wasn't really a plan it was more like a stolen idea from a movie that he had seen recently. Of course he didn't have most of the stuff the guy had in the movie. So really it was a stupid plan, but Sora wanted to stay optimistic. He looked when the door open again. His heart jump into his throat when he saw the silver haired male. He face flushed, but he glared at the magic user.

Riku, however, just smiled. He walked over to Sora and sat down next to him leaning against the wall, "I've come to keep you company."

Sora looked over at him. "Why?" he mood instantly changed from angry and upset to confused and surprised. He stared at the silver haired boy waiting for an answer.

Riku looked at Sora and gave him a shrug. "I was bored."

Sora's glared at Riku again, he wanted to attack him. "You're annoying." The brunette looked away. This guy was holding him prisoner and he just claimed that he was bored? Why was he keeping him hostage? It couldn't be for nothing.

Riku smirked and leaned closer to Sora. "Are you upset?" he noticed Sora moving away from him. He grabbed the boy's wrist and jerked him back. "Maybe you are unsatisfied." He kissed his neck.

"Let go of me! Get off!" snapped Sora trying to pull away. In the back of his mind he realized that he didn't even know the male's name. They had already kissed once. Sora felt the older boy nipped his neck, he couldn't help but give a slight moan, the magic user was good at was he did. "Riku."

Riku's eyes widened, he backed away from Sora. He stared at the brunette as if he had grown a second head. How had he known his name?

Sora stared at Riku slightly confused. What had he just said? Riku? He blinked, "That's you name isn't it…Riku. How did I?" Sora blinked again very confused.

Riku let out a breath. He had thought for sure that it was one of Demyx's water clones. It seemed that Sora shared his friend's gift of magic. Riku smile moved closer to Sora again," I must be just that good,"

"Really?" stated a quiet voice from behind Riku. The magician turned to receive a dagger through his stomach. He looked up at this attacker. Short blonde hair and cold blue eyes. Riku clutched his wound glared at the water user. "Demyx…" he gasped as fell forward unconscious.

Sora looked at the blonde. He felt scared of the man; he had felt oddly safe with Riku even though the male was molesting him. The brunette was sure that this Demyx guy would kill him if given the chance.

Xxx

Axel and Roxas reached the run down building that was the mages hide out. Roxas look over the building. It looked like it was going to fall down. He glanced at Axel, surprised to find a look of worry on the man's face. "What's going on?" asked Roxas not liking that look.

Axel glanced at him for a second before entering the building, without a word. Roxas lifted an eyebrow and followed the red head, wondering what was going on. He followed Axel through the many maze like hallways until they reached a room that strongly resembled a dungeon. Roxas' eyes widened as he saw Riku lying on the floor in a puddle of his own blood.

Axel was by his partner's side in a second. He lifted Riku up gently, he noticed the magic user was still slightly awake. "What happened?" he asked quietly.

Riku coughed, "Demyx…" was all he said before he passed out.

Roxas looked at Axel, "What happened to Sora?" There was a slight pull on his conscious to be concerned for the man that had gotten stabbed, but he was more worried about his friend at this point.

Axel looked at him, "He's been kidnapped, by the real bad guys."

A/N: GAH! Done, be happy. I have no idea how long it will take for me to update. I'm sorry about the slowness of my brain and the really long un-updated periods of time. I'm trying, this story is just not flowing right now. Damn this writer's block. Anyway, read and review. Suggestions are always appreciated.


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